Poppy help please.

I have a huge clump of Orientale poppies which flower happily every year. However last year and again this year I have been having a problem which I can't identify. To start with a couple of the leaves have suddenly become variegated...not too much of a problem as it is very attractive but I suspect this could be a virus. However my main problem is that something is severing the heads from the stem. In some cases the stems are peeled back and a black residue is left. This has happened overnight and apart from a couple of black spider like creatures I cannot see anything which would appear to have caused this much damage. Does anyone have any suggestions as to the cause?